If you have never listened to the song “This too shall Pass” by Danny Schmidt, I highly recommend it. It is a beautiful and haunting song. In particular, The final two stanzas of the song still bring a tear to my eye now and then:
“The story goes, Or the way that I was told,
There was a king that always felt too high and then he felt too low,
And so he called, all the wise men to the hall,
And he begged them for a gift to end the rises and the falls,
And here’s the thing, They came back with a ring,
It was simple and was plainly unbefitting of a king,
Engraved in black, Well, it had no front or back,
But there were words around the band that said:
“Just know – this too shall pass””
Last year I was low. Lowest I have ever been. I didn’t realise how low I had fallen until one night it all hit me at once. I scared my loved ones. I scared myself.
That night may have been one of the worst experiences of my life, but the upside was that it truly kickstarted my journey into looking my mental health full in the face.
I am not ashamed to admit that I am taking antidepressants. I am proud of this fact and that I am undergoing regular therapy. A year later I am in a much better place, not perfect, but much better than I was. I am unravelling parts of my psyche that I have never acknowledged, and slowly I am understanding who I was, who I am and who I will be.
Even now, mental health can be a difficult subject to speak about, especially when you’re in the middle of a low. Reach out, speak to a friend, or family, or a professional. The world may seem cruel, but I truly believe that humanity is inherently kind. We look after those who are hurting.